WASHINGTON, May 24, 2007  The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved additional International Development Association (IDA) financing in the amount of US$15 million for the Second Education Sector Investment Program (PISE II) in Mali.

This additional allocation will be used to reduce the PISE II financing gap and will help ensure that the outcome indicators defined in the Program Results Framework are achieved.

It will help finance the construction and outfitting of new primary school classrooms, the construction of secondary schools and of a teacher training institute (the Institut de formation de maξtres (IFM)), the provision of textbooks to the primary schools, the creation of reading courses in primary school classes, and improved management through the development of school maps, a pilot initiative for improving management in a department of the University of Bamako, and the training of personnel at the central and decentralized levels, stated Atou Seck, the Project Leader.

Component 1 of PISE II includes: Improving the quality of basic education by intensifying the practice of reading through the creation of a reading corner in 25 percent of the classrooms for the first cycle of basic education (outfitting 4,600 classrooms); equipping libraries and providing textbooks to five teacher training institutes (IFMs); direct support, through subsidies, to all schools for the first cycle of basic education that have operational School Management Committees in place for procuring supplies; continuing training for 60 workdays for the certification of 3,000 teachers in the commune-level schools and a 60-workday accelerated training program, as well as 60 days of on-the-job monitoring for 1,800 new teachers as part of the Alternative Strategy for the Recruitment of Instructional Staff.

Component 2 (Improved Access to Education) will be carried out through the construction of classrooms for the first and second cycles of basic education (970 classrooms), including the provision of furnishings, water supply, and the construction of latrines; the construction and outfitting of a secondary school (capable of handling an enrollment of 600 students); and support for apprenticeship programs in key areas for youths with no education or who have dropped out of school.

Component 3: Enhancing institutional capacities for management of the education sector will focus on managing human resources, including the appraisal of managers, their training, and assessing the extent to which they match the job profile; and improving resource allocation and effectiveness through strengthened budgetary and financial management, the establishment of a legal framework for the autonomous management of public institutions for technical and vocational education and the financing of private education, and the development of an instrument that incorporates the school map that will make it possible to allocate resources and reduce disparities more effectively.

This component will also include conducting annual audits covering the appraisal of school construction and the management of textbooks; the introduction of an integrated management information system for education; and the coordination and management of the program, including appraisal of the apprenticeships in 2007 and upon conclusion of the project.

The anticipated results of the operation are to make it possible for an additional 20,000 students a year in poor rural areas to receive instruction in an improved school environment; the opportunity for 1,800 additional children to complete their basic education in localities where secondary education is not available in order to continue studies at the secondary level; providing a reading area within their classrooms for 250,000 primary school students with a view to improving their reading skills; and having 100,000 students in basic education level 1 following the new curriculum, and 50,000 students from basic education level 2 receiving at least two textbooks, and having 600 new and additional student teachers attend the teacher training institutes (IFMs).

The objectives, design, and initial scope of the project remain unchanged. The project will be executed in accordance with the same implementation and partnership arrangements used successfully under PISE I.

Fourteen bilateral and multilateral donors, in partnership with the Government of Mali, are working in tandem to support Phase II of the Education Sector Investment Program in Mali (2006-2009).